


Hold You Close

by EmberCartwright



Series: Tyzula Things [36]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Not rly fluff, Soft Azula, Wives, comforting azula, only with ty lee tho, the dai li are going down for good, tyzula - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:29:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27789772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmberCartwright/pseuds/EmberCartwright
Summary: A Dai Li act of terrorism leaves Ty Lee injured in the hospital and sends Azula into a frenzy.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (mentioned), Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Tyzula Things [36]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2019697
Comments: 9
Kudos: 150





	Hold You Close

The cerulean curtain of flame in front of the Fire Lord and his top advisor shook along with the entire palace as Caldera was rocked by an explosion. 

Generals and advisors clamored and jostled about as the floors, walls and ceiling shifted around them. 

Slowly the shaking stopped and everything was still. 

“What was that,” Zuko asked quietly, turning to his sister.

Balling her hands into fists in her lap, Azula remained poised in her seat and maintained the fiery barrier. 

“I’m sure we’re about to be told,” she said slowly. 

“Do you think that we were bombed,” Zuko asked.

“‘We’ the throne room or ‘we’ the Fire Nation? Because I don’t think the palace was the target, given the current maintenance of the structure.”

The door was thrown open and a man ran in, he was white as a sheet. 

“There was a large explosion in Lu Ten’s Memorial park, near the shopping stalls,” he shouted, panting. “At least a hundred people were injured, bodies are still being recovered.”

Everyone started yelling at once but fell silent as the fire in front of the throne spiked. The blue flames licked the ceiling, burning white hot at the tips. Everyone stared as Princess Azula flew through the flames, her clothes untouched by the fire, and sprinted away. 

Her guards, who were lined up against the wall, snapped to attention and began to chase after her.

Zuko quickly got the fire under control and it faded from blue to red. Then he looked at the men and women in front of him. 

“Everyone is dismissed for today,” he called. “There is obviously something much more pressing to deal with.” 

He walked out of the room briskly and as soon as he did people swamped him with statistics and information and speculation. 

He stopped dead when he saw his wife standing in the middle of a hall, her demeanor more dark than usual. 

He took her hands in his and felt her fingers trembling. 

“What’s wrong Mai?”

“She was there,” Mai whispered. Her usually expressionless lips trembled. 

“Who was there,” he asked softly. 

“Ty Lee.”

Zuko’s eyes widened as he remembered Azula’s rapid exit. 

“She is one of the strongest and fastest people that we know,” Zuko said with what he hoped was a reassuring tone. “She is probably safe.” 

He grabbed Mai and pulled her into a tight hug, her face pressing against his chest. 

He couldn’t make out what she was sobbing into him but he caught the words “rubble,” “buried,” and “unknown casualties.” 

“Let’s go to the hospital,” Zuko suggested. “I have to go anyway because the Fire Lord must check on his people. Maybe Azula already found her and they’re there.”  
**********************************************************************************************************  
After Azula fled the throne room she found the hallways much too crowded. With a deep breath she let out a wave of fire in front of her causing all the people in her path to quickly jump out of the way. 

Using fistfuls of flames she power boosted herself out of the palace and into the street, where throngs of people were flooding the roads. With a scream of frustration, Azula tilted her hands and launched herself into the sky. 

Using the intensity and direction of the flames to maneuver herself she flew from the royal palace to Lu Ten’s park, ignoring the looks she was getting from the people below. 

She landed gracefully in front of the chief of police at what looked to be ground zero. Where there had previously been small stands and vendors on the side of the park was a large, smooth crater. It looked like a chunk of earth had been scooped out. Small spurts of water bubbled up from different points in the ground where pipes had been broken and the air was filled with a hazy smoke.

She heard screams from men, women, and children who were either trapped under some dispersed rubble or trying in vain to reconnect with lost family members in the fray. Bodies were being carried in every direction, some moving and some very still. 

None of the screams and none of the faces were the one that she was looking for. 

The chief of police stopped what he was doing when he saw the princess and dropped into a bow. 

“I’m sorry princess, we still haven’t identified who committed this atrocity,” the man said as he was rising. 

“Have you seen her,” she growled as he stood up, masking her increasing panic as anger. 

“Seen who, your highness,” the man stuttered, taken aback by the question. 

Azula grabbed the man by his collar and lifted him into the air even though he was several inches taller than her. 

“My. Wife.” 

She dropped him and he fell to his knees with a thud. Nervously he looked around at his men. 

“Has anyone seen the princess Ty Lee,” he shouted. A lot of heads turned towards him, and most turned away. 

One young policeman walked up to them. He stood quietly and fidgeted with his hands. 

“Well,” Azula asked. “Neither of us has all day.” 

“I saw the princess Ty Lee right after the explosion. She was injured but awake and alert. She wanted to help with the rescue but she couldn't stand on her own. Some of her guards were unharmed and she was taken to the high nobility hospital.” 

Without any other acknowledgement Azula took off again, this time increasing the speed of her flight. 

She landed at the entrance to the hospital and blasted through the door. Doctors, nurses and all of the people waiting in the lobby scattered to be out of her way. 

“Where is she,” Azula asked quietly as she walked up to the receptionist at the front desk. She honed her anger and fear into a pointed voice that inspired terror in those who heard it. 

“The princess is going to be okay, she is in intensive care now. She has injuries but none are particularly life threatening. Many waterbending healers are on their way and she should be treated soon. We have one on staff of course, but there are so many cases, you see.” 

Azula raised an eyebrow and brought the tips of her fingers together in what seemed like a nonchalantly mannerism. However, sparks played across her nails. 

The receptionist swallowed loudly and leaned away, sweat coating his face.

“The intensive care unit doesn’t allow visitors…” his voice trailed off because the sparks were becoming more intense. 

The corners of Azula’s mouth lifted into a smile but it was a terrifying disposition to behold. The receptionist's eyes prickled with tears.

“Let’s say, hypothetically, I shot a man with lightning and he needed intensive care right away. Where should I bring him?” Her voice was steady and almost a purr. 

The lightning in her hands grew and the receptionist’s tears overflowed out of his eyes. 

“Take those stairs to the second floor and turn left,” he whimpered. Azula moved and he lifted frantically his arms to block his face but she was already gone.  
**********************************************************************************************************  
Ty Lee awoke and felt sluggish. There was a ringing in her right ear and the room was too bright. She tried to reach her arm out for her wife, as she usually did when she woke up, but instead was hit by pain that wracked her entire body.

She let out an involuntary whimper as she felt every bruise and tear in her body. Lifting a shaking hand to her pounding head she felt something wet. Pulling her fingers away she saw a slick coating of blood.

Dizzy she pushed her head back into the pillow and tried to remember what had happened. 

Suddenly, she heard a scream and a crash. The curtain which separated her cot from wherever she happened to be was translucent, and she saw bright blue light flash. 

Her lips tugged into the biggest smile she could manage, which was not very impressive. 

‘My ‘Zula is here,’ she thought. 

The curtain was yanked away and there stood princess Azula. Her eyes were wide, her hair was a mess and she was panting. Medical staff and equipment littered the floor behind her. A small woman was yelling something at her but she wasn’t listening. 

Slowly she walked towards the bed and sank to her knees next to it. 

Ty Lee turned her face to the side to look at Azula. 

She looked terrible. There was a large gash in her face, from what Azula could see she’d broken at least an arm, a leg, and a few ribs. She was covered with dirt and bruises.

Azula reached a hand forward and the short woman yelled something again but she stayed away, too scared to interfere with the princesses of the Fire Nation. 

Tenderly Azula took Ty Lee’s hand in her own, scanning her face to see if she hurt her. Seeing no such sign she brought the hand to her chest and cradled it. Tears streamed down her face as she knelt there motionless, Ty Lee just watching. 

The small woman backed away, wildly uncomfortable by the intimate scene in front of her. Carefully she drew the curtains around the room and walked away. 

“Ty,” Azula whispered after a long time. 

“‘Zula,” was the weak and scratchy response.

“I thought you died. For a moment there I…” her voice broke.

“I didn’t die ‘Zula. Look I’m right here,” she said softly wiggling her fingers in Azula’s hand. “It will take a lot more than a small explosion to get rid of me.” She coughed. 

Azula’s eyes shot up. 

“Have you been seen by a healer? Do you need water? Are you warm enough? Did they give you pain killers?”

“No, sure, not really, I don’t remember.”

Azula took a second processing the answers and then she sprung into action. 

Peeling the curtain back she made eye contact with an unfortunate staff member and started to yell. 

“First of all I need a cup of water in here because her throat is dry. Second of all I need a healer right now because some of these wounds can not wait, especially the one on her head. Thirdly, someone needs to go and get my brother and send a hawk to Katara because she’s the only one I trust to do the real healing. “ 

Her words sent everyone in the vicinity into action. Content to have made her point Azula turned back to Ty Lee. 

“Now how are we going to get you warm without piling blankets on,” she asked.

Ty Lee shifted a little in the bed. 

“Hold me ‘Zula.” 

Azula’s eyes widened. 

“You won’t break me.” 

Slowly Azula approached the bed. Very gently she moved Ty Lee and slipped behind her in the bed, pulling the former acrobat into her chest. She felt the girl relax against her and tuck her head into her neck. 

A few minutes passed where they just lay in the bed together and breathed. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. 

“This is just ridiculous,” Azula growled quietly. “How long does it take to bring water?”

She started to move but felt Ty Lee’s hand close around her sleeve. 

“Don’t go, please.”

Biting her lip Azula settled back again. She pressed a very soft, tender kiss to Ty Lee’s temple. 

A woman came in with a cup of water. Ty Lee tried to reach for it but her arm wouldn’t lift without blinding pain. Azula put her own hand out and took the cup. Slowly she lifted the cup to Ty Lee’s lips and tipped it back allowing a little bit to dribble into her mouth. 

She swallowed hard and made a pained face. Azula tried to pour a little more but she shook her head. 

“Just a little more,” Azula whispered. “Your throat will feel better when it is wet.” 

Ty Lee nodded and opened her mouth again. Little by little she drank the whole cup and at the end her throat admittedly felt better. 

Azula looked up to see the woman who brought the water still standing there. Her anger flared.

“Why are you standing around gaping, like this is some sort of spectacle. If you have nothing better to do, you can get the healer because Ty Lee needs to be seen,” she snapped. 

The woman stumbled back and turned, jogging out of the room. 

Ty Lee nuzzled herself deeper into Azula. 

“I’m so tired,” she breathed. 

“Sleep. I’ll wake you when the healer comes.” 

Ty Lee closed her eyes and drifted off against Azula’s chest. Now the only one awake, Azula listened to the level sounds of Ty Lee’s breath. 

Knowing now that Ty Lee was safe and having a minute to think Azula felt her anger bubble up again. Who could have caused that explosion and why haven’t they been identified. 

Judging by the location this wasn’t a person or group from within the Fire Nation itself. All of the anti Zuko dissenters had only ever targeted him or Azula directly. There had been many assassination attempts but none with significant civilian casualties like this. 

She briefly considered that this was an accident but dismissed the idea very quickly. Knowing generally the layout of what was underneath Caldera, there was nothing explosive underneath there and the edges of the crater were too smooth… 

Her eyes shot open with surprise and realization. Because the hole was too small to be a volcanic sinkhole, which was also extremely unlikely due to the miles of metal infrastructure underground, the culprits must have been earth benders. 

There was a particular group of earth benders that hated Azula, and therefore the Fire Nation, who also happened to have complete disregard for the safety of civilians. 

The Dai Li. 

It made sense for the Dai Li to make their move now. Azula had been waiting for a few years for it to happen. Everything had been too quiet on the Earth Kingdom’s end after the conclusion of the war. 

Ty Lee shifted a bit in her arms and groaned in pain in her sleep. Azula gently stroked her hair, which was halfway out of its usual braid. 

Given the nature of the Dai Li, they might have even known that Ty Lee was there and targeted her specifically. 

Azula clenched her jaw and turned her head away from the sleeping girl, sharply exhaling smoke. 

If her theory turns out to be true she would make them pay for what they did. Every last one of them.  
**********************************************************************************************************

A hawk reaches Zuko before he is even able to leave the palace. 

“Your sister is in the hospital with Ty Lee. She asks that you come quickly and summon Katara.”

Mai read Zuko the message and he quickly dictated a red label note to Katara asking her to come as soon as she could. Then, they chartered a palanquin to the hospital. 

Zuko and Mai entered the hospital surrounded by guards, reporters, and various people bringing updates. Before they even reached the information desk the receptionist launched himself towards them and started stuttering something about intensive care and no visitors. 

Zuko was about to ask a few clarifying questions when Mai pulled him away by the sleeve.

“I think I know what happened,” she said. 

Swiftly they walked to the second floor. From there it was easy. They followed the path of destruction all the way to a curtained cot. Mai pulled it back to see the broken body of one of her best friends lying still in the arms of her other best friend, who looked extremely distrssed. 

“Is she…” Mai asked, eyes widening. 

Azula didn’t look up to see Mai and Zuko. She was too absorbed in counting Ty Lee’s breaths to hear or see anything else. 

“No,” she responded, “but she’s badly hurt.”

Mai nodded and came over to sit in a chair by the bed. She noticed the gash in Ty Lee’s head was still bleeding a little. 

“Has she not been seen by a healer at all?”

“Apparently there’s only one in the hospital and she’s tending to people that are dying. I already yelled at everyone that walked by here. I would have gone to get her myself but I didn’t want to leave her.”

“Katara should be on her way,” Zuko said. “In the meantime we can wait for the hospital healer to come by.” 

“I don’t want anyone other than Katara to treat her non-threatening wounds. Ty Lee is going to make a full recovery from this. Not just limping and wincing. She’s going to go back to jumping, running, flipping…” 

Ty Lee stirred, causing Azula to cut off her speech abruptly. 

“Was I too loud,” Azula asked softly, stroking her hair. 

Ty Lee tried to shake her head but the pain stopped her. 

“No,” she croaked. “Water…” 

Azula snapped her head up to look at Mai and Zuko, who were both entranced with her uncharacteristically soft behavior. 

“Well?”

Mai jumped up and went to find someone who could bring water. 

Azula turned back to the now awake girl in her arms. 

“How do you feel?”

“Not too bad,” she said, her voice cracking. Mai came back with the water and handed it to Azula. Slowly she helped Ty Lee drink and noticed she was a little stronger than before.

“Do we have any idea who did this,” Ty Lee asked. 

“Dai Li,” Azula and Zuko responded simultaneously. 

Zuko turned to Azula incredulously. 

“How do you know? You’ve been here,” he asked, shocked.

“After briefly surveying the scene it wasn’t that hard to figure out. I think they might have targeted Ty Lee.”

“How would they have even known she was there,” Zuko asked.

“They could have had us all tailed for Agni knows how long.” Azula clenched her fists. “I’m going to kill them all.”

“The only evidence that was found of Dai Li involvement was a green feather that only they wear on their hats.”

“Sloppy work,” Azula muttered. “A fatal mistake.”

“No ‘Zula,” Ty Lee said.

“No what?”

“If they were really targeting me they definitely are trying to get you. It’s a trap.”

“I don’t care if it's a trap, that’ll just make it easier for me to find them.”

“Azula, I already have our top detectives working on finding them,” Zuko said.

“As if that’ll do anything. They were able to create a crater in the most highly trafficked area in the Fire Nation capital. An area that should have been protected by the best bodyguards in the country because a princess was there at the time. What are a few detectives going to do.” 

“What can you do,” Zuko asked. 

“They want me to come to them so I will,” she responded simply. 

“You don’t know how many there are, it would be too reckless to go in alone,” Zuko shouted and Ty Lee winced.

Azula glared at him and stroked Ty Lee’s hair again because it didn’t seem to hurt her, placing another soft kiss on her temple. 

“Who said she was going in alone,” said Mai, who thus far had been taking stock of Ty Lee’s injuries. 

“Mai, you can’t possibly be on her side,” Zuko said incredulously. 

“Look at what they did Zuko,” Mai said, raising her voice and pointing at her friend’s broken body. “Ty Lee is the best of us. Out of all of us she did not deserve this!” 

“If you two are dead set on this at least take back up.” 

“They’ll never let us find them with back up.”

“You’re walking right into a trap!” 

“They’ve miscalculated,” Azula said, “and now they will pay.”  
**********************************************************************************************************  
Various servants brought Azula and Mai their gear from the palace. For Azula, her armor from the war which she still secretly trained in. For Mai, several sets of knives which she loaded into her sleeves. 

Azula slowly extracted herself from under Ty Lee. The acrobat clutched onto her shirt weakly. 

“You don’t have to,” she whispered. 

Azula knelt down so that their noses brushed. Mai and Zuko looked away politely and slightly embarrassed to be so close to this intimate moment. 

“You know I do,” she said. 

Ty Lee nodded and squeezed her eyes shut. Azula started to rise but Ty Lee pulled her in quickly and kissed her. 

Azula felt her chapped and cold lips, which only strengthened her anger and resolve for revenge. 

“I love you,” Ty Lee said after she pulled away.

“I’ll be right back,” Azula said. 

“‘Zula,” Ty Lee whimpered. 

“If the healer comes while I’m gone don’t let them do a half assed job.” 

“Azula,” Ty Lee said more forcefully. 

Azula set her jaw and pursed her lips. 

“I’m not saying goodbye because this is simply a routine errand.” 

Seeing anger rise on Ty Lee’s broken face Azula felt her resolve cave. 

She ran a surprisingly gentle hand through Ty Lee’s hair and over her shoulder. 

“I love you Ty, of course I do. I _will_ see you soon.”

Ty Lee relaxed and Azula pulled on her armor. 

“Watch her for me Zuzu,” Azula demanded, more than asked.  
**********************************************************************************************************  
A fight transpires. Long Feng is there and he taunts Azula about the damage he caused to her wife and her country leading her to kill him. She tries to kill the rest but Mai stops her. They incappaciate and capture all the rest of the Dai Li agents and hand them over to the police before returning to the hospital. The whole event takes approximately an hour.  
**********************************************************************************************************  
Azula and Mai breeze back into the hospital and people part for the two sweaty, dirt and bloodstained royals. They move quickly back to Ty Lee’s hospital bed to find pretty much the exact situation that they left. 

Ty Lee gasped when she saw Azula. 

“You’re hurt!”

Azula smirked and rolled her eyes.

“You literally can’t talk.”

Ty Lee smiled softly and waved Azula towards her. Azula was pleased to see her arm was working much better and she was regaining control of her facial muscles.

Azula blushed a little and looked at her feet at the thought of getting into Ty Lee’s bed with Mai and Zuko watching. 

Ty Lee sensed her apprehension and reached out a hand. 

“The bed is really hurting my back. It was much better when you were holding me.”

Azula’s desire to protect Ty Lee overwhelmed her embarrassment and she slowly slid into the bed behind Ty Lee, wrapping her arms gently, but protectively around her middle. 

Ty Lee really did feel much safer and more comfortable in the arms of the woman she loved. 

“The healer hasn’t been here yet but Ty Lee was second in line last time I asked the nurse,” Zuko said.

Azula’s fists tightened in anger.

“How dare they take this long. She is a princess!”

“It’s ok ‘Zula,” Ty Lee said but she didn’t look ok. She was still pale and bloody and weak. Azula stroked her side a little, barely applying any pressure because she couldn’t tell what was bruised. 

“What happened with the Dai Li,” Zuko asked. 

“We found them right away,” Mai deadpanned. “There are plenty in your prison for you to interrogate later. They will no longer pose a threat.”

“I will have to come up with a suitable punishment for them,” Zuko said. “I’m surprised you didn’t kill them, Azula. I was afraid you might lose all control and revert back to how you were during the war.”

“You have very little faith in me brother. Or in Mai’s ability to speak logically. I only took out Long Feng but he was asking for it.” 

“He was,” Mai confirmed. 

That was a better outcome than Zuko could have hoped for, even if it had been his own detectives doing the work. 

A waterbender entered the curtained off room and stared at the entire Fire Nation Royal family assembled inside. She fell to her knees and bowed. 

“Not Katara,” Azula said looking at Zuko, flaring her nostrils. 

“I am not Katara, princess. However I am the only waterbender employed by this hospital and I help with cosmetic procedures so I can definitely close up the head laceration without a scar,” she said, her nose still pressed against the ground. 

“Get up,” Azula growled. 

The healer got to her feet shakily. 

“Azula be nicer, she’s about to heal Ty Lee,” Zuko said. “Sorry about her,” he said to the healer. 

“We have a lot of stressed families here right now so I understand,” she said. “Are you ready?” 

Ty Lee nodded a little. 

“Is it going to hurt,” Azula asked. 

“More than it would if I just closed it, but you want it to look like nothing happened right,” the healer asked.

Azula nodded in confirmation. 

Ty Lee grabbed Azula’s hand and Azula squeezed it once. 

The healer opened her water pouch and pulled out some water. She brought her hands over Ty Lee’s face and began healing. 

Immediately Ty Lee dug her nails into Azula’s hand. 

“Shhh,” Azula whispered. “You have to stay really still.”

Tears rolled down Ty Lee’s face as her skin knit itself back together underneath the water. 

“What’s wrong with a scar,” she sobbed while sitting extremely still in Azula’s arms. “Will you leave me if I have a scar?”

“No Ty I won’t leave you if you have a scar. I won’t leave you ever. But, if you’re getting something fixed, get it fixed right.” 

Mai leaned forward and pat Ty Lee’s unbroken leg gently. 

“Almost there Ty,” she said in her gravelly voice. 

When the healer pulled back Ty Lee’s face looked just as it had when she woke up next to Azula that morning. 

Azula kissed her cheek softly. Ty Lee turned her head and kissed her on the lips. Azula’s heart leapt when she felt that her wife’s lips were warmer than they were earlier.

“All done,” she whispered. “How does it feel?”

“It feels better, thank you,” Ty Lee said to the healer. “My headache is gone and my throat actually hurts less too.”

“I tried to do as much fixing as I could do,” the healer said bowing. “The rest of your injuries are not life threatening and I can help with the pain while you wait for Master Katara to come and properly set your bones.”

“No need,” said a woman brushing into the room. “I’m here,” Katara said, stopping in front of Ty Lee’s bed. 

The healer bowed and left. 

Aang followed behind Katara, closing his glider. 

“How did you get here so fast,” Zuko said standing up to hug them both. 

“Aang used the Avatar state to create a really strong wind current and he flew us here on his glider,” Katara explained. 

“I would greet you but I’m a little tied up here,” Azula said. 

“Hi Katara, hi Aang,” Ty Lee said. 

Katara turned to her new patient. 

“How are you feeling Ty Lee?”

“Better than before,” she said, trying her hardest to maintain her usual peppy attitude. 

“You’re so strong,” Azula whispered quietly into Ty Lee’s ear, making sure nobody else could hear. “You don’t have to be.”

Katara raised an eyebrow at Zuko, indicating that she was quite surprised at Azula’s behavior. Zuko shrugged. 

Ty Lee blushed and realized she was still holding Azula’s hand. She relaxed her fingers and noticed there was blood under her nails. 

“‘Zula! Why didn’t you stop me,” she asked. 

“You’re going to need her hand or something like that again,” Katara said, examining Ty Lee’s arm, leg and ribs. She winced every time Katara touched her and Azula stared daggers into her. 

“I’ll say this once again, Azula be nicer. She’s about to heal Ty Lee,” Zuko said. 

“I think we should do this in a tub,” Katara said once her assessment was finished. 

“You’re kidding right,” Azula asked. “Do you think we should also run a race to get there?”

Katara narrowed her eyes at Azula but took a deep breath reminding herself that the girl wasn’t being needlessly mean. She was being mean because the love of her life was injured. 

Katara remembered how she felt when, coincidentally, Azula had done the same to the love of her life, Aang. She chose not to bring it up at that moment though. 

“There are no spinal injuries so we can get a gurney or you can carry her. There are also painkillers,” she said, extending a vial of green leaves from her hand. 

“Will you carry me,” Ty Lee said quietly to Azula. 

“Of course,” she said, stroking Ty Lee’s face with the pad of her thumb. 

Azula took the pain killing herbs out of Katara’s hand and grabbed one between her fingers. 

“One should be good,” Aang said. “These are special herbs the monks used.”

Ty Lee opened her mouth and Azula placed it on her tongue. Ty Lee made a face but swallowed. 

Almost immediately Azula felt much of the tension the girl was carrying subside. 

“Everything hurts a little less,” Ty Lee said. 

“Okay I’m going to get you up,” Azula said. “Is there a specific place we’re going?”

“There is a healer’s tub down the hall,” Zuko said. 

“Mai can you support the broken leg,” Katara asked. 

Slowly, very slowly, Azula got up and cradled Ty Lee in her arms. Ty Lee dug her fingers into Azula’s palm but didn’t make a noise. Mai held her foot so that her broken leg didn’t swing. 

The procession inched down the hallway as Azula murmured words of encouragement to Ty Lee. 

When they reached the tub, Azula stepped inside still holding Ty Lee, both girls fully dressed. 

The dejavu of being in water at the complete mercy of the waterbender caused Azula to freeze for a second. 

“You can just put her down and get out,” Katara suggested. 

Ty Lee’s eyes widened and she clung to Azula with her good arm. 

“I think I’m not going to do that,” Azula said, gently lowering herself and Ty Lee down into the water. 

“I’m just going to set your ribs, leg and arm,” Katara said. “It will begin the healing process and it’s about as much as your body can take at a time. Usually I’d say one bone per session but if you want to regain complete function we have to do them all now.” 

Ty Lee swallowed hard. 

“This might hurt more than your facial laceration.”

Katara stood over the water and held her arms parallel to it. The water began to glow and Ty Lee’s eyes bulged almost out of her head. 

Her mouth snapped open as if to scream but nothing came out, Mai quickly undid the belt of her robe and knotted it up. Azula grabbed it and put it into Ty Lee’s mouth just before she bit down, hard. 

Azula could feel every crack and movement of bones in Ty Lee’s body as her fingers dug once again into Azula’s flesh. 

“We’re going to count down from ten,” Azula whispered to Ty Lee, unsure if she could hear. 

She began to count down from ten to one and every time she finished she just started over. At first it was unclear as to whether it was doing anything but after a few rounds she could feel Ty Lee breathing along with her count. 

After what felt like ages Katara lowered her arms. The glowing stopped. Ty Lee relaxed fully and actually fell asleep on top of Azula in the tub. Azula kissed the crown of her head. 

“You did so good Ty,” she whispered. 

“She can’t hear you, you know,” Katara said. “She’ll probably be in a very deep sleep for a long time. I’m thinking until the morning. Healing is a difficult process.”

“You don’t know what permeates her subconscious,” Azula snapped. 

Katara shrugged. 

“Do you want me to do your wounds, it looks like you’re bleeding,” she said. 

“It’s not her blood,” Mai said. Azula smirked. 

“Ok well, I’ll be back tomorrow morning to continue healing but you can probably take her to the palace now if you’re really careful with the newly set bones. I can monitor her there.”

Azula nodded. 

Katara turned to leave but Azula grabbed her wrist, the sleeve of her robe dripping on the floor. 

“Thank you,” she said, looking at the ground. 

“No problem,” Katara said. 

She left and Zuko and Aang followed, ready to assess the situation from a world leader perspective. 

Mai, Azula and Ty Lee were left in the healing tub room. 

“Who knew you would respond well in a crisis,” Mai asked after a few moments of silence.

“I don’t know what I would do if I lost her,” Azula said, her voice breaking. She played with Ty Lee’s half loose hair in the tub. Untangling her already ruined braid she tried to clean the rubble out of it and braid it back together. 

Mai sat on the edge of the tub and rubbed Azula’s shoulders. 

“You didn’t lose her,” she said. 

“It was my fault though,” Azula said, a single tear rolling down her face. She started rubbing away the patches of dirt and dried blood on Ty Lee’s skin. 

“How was it your fault? For antagonizing Long Feng all those years ago? You can’t connect dots that far apart,” Mai said with surprising aggression. “This was his fault and no one elses.” 

Azula nodded and drew the sleeping body of her wife closer into her arms. 

“In other news, it turns out you _do_ have a heart,” Mai said. 

“Was that a joke,” Azula asked looking up at her. “Today is when you choose to grow a sense of humor?”

Mai chuckled, which was completely out of character for her. 

“You did good today Azula. Ty Lee couldn’t have asked for a better reaction from you. Actually anyone would be lucky to have a wife that acted like you did.”

“Thank you,” Azula said. 

“Wow, manners,” Mai said dryly. “We’re learning so many things about Azula today.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is definitely the saddest/ most depressing thing i've ever written. i try to keep it fluffy and happy bc ive never rly understood ppl who only want to read angst or quarrels bc it hurts me in my soul, but this kinda j came out like this? whoops.


End file.
